ADRA Liberia begins “Rice Casserole” distribution

In its continuous efforts to bringing relief to Liberia, the Adventist Development Relief Agency or ADRA Liberia has offloaded a forty feet container filled with cartoons of “Rice Casserole” for distribution to vulnerable groups in the society.

The offloading was done on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at the Monrovia Head Office of ADRA on Smythe Road in the Old Road community.

 Each cartoon onboard the container has 36 packages of 33 pounds or 14 kilos GW which means the 1,320 cartoons have about 47, 520 packages.

Speaking to this paper Sunday at the ADRA Liberia Head Office, Country Director Anthony Aaron Zaizay, said the rice was sent to Liberia by ADRA International based in the United States to be distributed among Ebola survivors and victims’ families, who have also started to benefit from projects implemented by ADRA in schools, communities and other places.

Mr. Zaiazay said the “Rice Casserole” was received by the organization on Saturday, but was offloaded on Sunday because Seventh Day Adventists don’t work on Saturday.

He added that each package of the “Rice Casserole” contains all ingredients one may think about and can feed about six persons.

The ADRA Country Director, who also noted that the rice is sent for school feeding program, added that at least 500 or more people will benefit the rice casserole in Bomi, and Bong Counties, adding that majority will be sent to Bomi County.

He said during distribution, ADRA will focus on the least of the targeted beneficiaries, saying, “The least of these in Liberia now are Ebola survivors and victims’ families even though everyone may have one way or the other suffered the heat of Ebola in the country.”

He said the same group that benefited from ADRA‘s Back-to-School Kits will also benefit from the rice.

The operations, according to him, are also in line with information from various communities, including county superintendents’ offices.

Recently, a delegation from the ADRA International committed to supporting Liberia’s post-Ebola recovery.

The head of the three-man ADRA delegation, Frank Brenda, disclosed that his organization intends to support the Liberian government in its post-Ebola recovery, including rebuilding the country’s health  and education sectors with emphasis on reintroducing school feeding program and agriculture revitalization.

Also speaking in Margibi County in one of the worst hit areas (Bulorquelleh Community) where the team had gone to provide assistance to Ebola orphans and survivors with the distribution of educational materials, Frank Brenda underscored the need for such support to a country like Liberia whose health sector has entirely been ravaged as the result of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus.  

The ADRA-International’s guests were in the country as part of their mission to monitor the work of ADRA-Liberia, especially the already launched Joint Ebola Orphans and Survivors Support Back to School Aid campaign in three counties. 

During the delegation’s visit to Margibi County recently, it toured severa1 schools that had earlier benefited from the Back-to-School campaign.

On March 9, 2015, ADRA-Liberia launched the “Joint Ebola Orphans and Survivors Support Back to School Aid” in Kakata, Margibi County.

The project is being held under the auspices of the Aktion Deutschland Hilft Germany’s Relief Coalition and partners.

Giving an overview of the project and presentation of school and Ebola preventive materials at the launch, the Country Director of ADRA, Anthony Zaizay, explained that the organization through a network, “ADRA Liberia Network- Coalition 111” discovered the need to provide aid to Ebola affected children, especially in the areas of educational support upon an assessment carried out.

Accordingly, ADRA Liberia with support of from  partners initiated the joint Ebola orphans and survivors back to school aid project intended to provide educational and Ebola prevention materials to children orphaned as the result of the Ebola Virus Disease and schools accommodating them.

Zaizay revealed that the project, which is estimated at US$200,000, is targeting about 400 children in several communities both in Margibi and Bong counties for six months.

However, he urged other non-governmental organizations to consider supporting children made orphan by Ebola, adding, “It has now become the obligation of every Liberian to extend helping hand to these kids if they are to reach their full potential.” 

Several students benefited the distribution with each of them receiving one school-bag containing educational materials such as books, pencils and geometric set, among others. 

By Ramsey Singbeh, in Margibi County